With the current rate of inflation and the world economy in a real mess, all prices are rising. And airlines too are increasing their fare. What once used to be affordable for the lower middle class too is now not affordable for the middle or upper middle class. It is back to the 90s and before when air fares were exclusive travel mode for the rich.

An examination of flights from the capital to any of the main metros on the low fare airlines shows that routes are priced almost exactly the same as each other. So, Delhi-Mumbai (a two-hour flight) will cost you roughly the same as Delhi-Chennai (two and a half hours) or Delhi-Bangalore. Last week, this was roughly Rs 10,000-11,000 for a return ticket. It appears ticket pricing bears no relation to the distance flown.APEX (book early and pay less) appears and disappears with unerring regularity. Just a week ago, few carriers were offering lower fares, whether one travelled the next day or three months down the line. This is in sharp contrast to a year ago where fares for travel after a few weeks could drop as sharply as 50 per cent.This week, it's back again. While all metro fares ex-Delhi appear to be the same on every low cost carrier (Rs 10,800 for next week), they've brought in some of the "apex" flavour back.For one month later, the fares on all the low fare airline ...more